There are times when safety doesn’t matter. I am referring to personal safety, public safety and workplace safety. Security doesn’t matter…until it does. Unfortunately, the time when safety seems to matter is after an accident or after multiple ignored warnings that result in tragedy. In other words, regret or fear is often the catalyst that makes safety important.
Practicing personal safety and safety on the job is a choice…a matter of personal responsibility, the consequence of which circumvention always leads to regret and new laws.
Anytime we take a moderate to high risk to our safety and well-being, we may be subconsciously saying that safety really doesn’t matter right now. This article is intended to be provocative, to start a conversation and perhaps even a movement to recognize the importance of security in living and creating the life you want.
security doesn’t matter
As long as there is a distraction or a higher priority
•having fun
• horse game
•demonstrate special abilities and endurance
• to make laugh
• be entertained
As long as there is denial
•It won’t happen to me
•It happened to someone else, but it must have been God’s will
•As long as you can believe what you want
•As long as you avoid the facts
•As long as I think I’m special
As long as there is a reward
•I saved time
•Save money
•I tried and beat destiny
•I prove that I am more daring than you
Every time you put yourself or someone else at risk, you communicate that safety doesn’t really matter.
When you text while driving, you’re doing it to entertain yourself, have fun, laugh, or show that while others aren’t good at it, you are. You’re avoiding the fact that when you’re driving 55 miles per hour and texting, it’s like driving the length of a football field without looking or knowing what you’re doing. You may think you are saving time or even beating fate. And safety won’t matter to you as long as there’s a higher reward than the risk of killing yourself, killing someone else, or otherwise ruining the life you have.
Medical professionals who work long hours compromise patient safety. Nurses who work 12.5 hours or more are three times more likely to make a patient care error. Furthermore, one of the main causes of unproductive behavior of physicians in the operating room is due to physician fatigue. The Institute of Medicine recently conducted an investigation of 2 large studies and concluded that as many as 44,000, and perhaps as many as 98,000 Americans die each year as a result of medical errors. I read a case about a surgeon who bragged about doing 16 surgeries in one day. Good for him, but I wouldn’t want to be the 16th patient, would you? Is this a case of denial, or is it worth the risk?
When you evade the responsibility to act and work safely, you are careless. Alan Gray of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety says, “When you break safety rules and work safely, you actually care less,” punning the word “careless.” He makes a great point.
Safety is not about laws and rules, it is about personal responsibility. Safety is everyone’s business. Living, working and acting safely not only shows maturity and good judgment, it’s a way of showing you care.
